The reality of this technology-driven world is that miracles are now relegated to excused absences; modern theology has either explained away biblical references to the miraculous, or we attribute the beauty around us as the “miracle of life”, thereby undermining the common understanding of metaphysical intervention.

Further, the sudden advent of superheroes and their feats of bravery and physical actions which defy the general laws of nature, reveal to us that miracles and miraculous acts can be performed by humans of a similar origin but of a higher order. Spiderman, Superman, Captain America, et al, seemingly do with ease what Moses asked but only through obedience and a lifetime of virtue.

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) has merely perfected and made beautiful such acts of death-defying, counterintuitive and anti-gravity gymnastics; and the pulley-strings and cables no longer need to be manually erased. Such super-human feats as represented in virtual reality counter the mundane reality of true human existence. Yes, yes — perhaps it is all “just for fun” and we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. But societal representation of who we are is indeed a serious matter.

The reality of life is that human frailty, misfortune and pain pervades the vast majority of everyday existence. Just ask the individual who suffers from a medical condition, and the daily encounter with pain and progressively debilitating illnesses.

For the Federal and Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition such that the condition prevents one from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s job, the daily absence of miracles and gravity-defying feats is superseded by just getting through the day. No CGI imposition can change the pain; superheroes cannot come to save the day; the modern theological explanations cannot expunge the reality of daily encounters with a cruel world.

In the end, the Federal and Postal employee has the option of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and through this administrative vehicle of attaining a different and new stage of life, the reality of what is available can attenuate the expectations driven by the brave but virtual New World as presented by the moguls of Hollywood.

Social commentators have noted the prevalence of the decline of genuine empathy, often linked to a greater entanglement with the virtual world, as created by television, movies, media, the internet, and the exponential use of social media. When emotions are spent and expended upon a lifeless screen of images and words, with limited encounters with actual human interaction, one wonders about the inevitable march of human evolution towards a world of emotionless drones and androids.

Science fiction is no longer a genre about the future; the future is now. As part of the defining phenomena of our times is the shrinking capacity for holding one’s attention; for, as we become attuned and disciplined to view the entire lifespan of an individual or event within a 2-hour period — as that constitutes the estimated time of a film or play — so the capacity of a person to endure the patience to listen to, attend to, or otherwise sustain one’s attention for the true lifespan of an individual becomes correspondingly diminished.

Society no longer has the ability to focus, concentrate, or have sympathy for, conditions and events which last a real lifetime. This presents a growing problem in our society, and one which is reflected in daily life.

For the Federal or Postal Worker who suffers from a medical condition, such that the medical condition impacts one’s employment arena in the ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job, the sustained reaction from one’s coworkers, supervisors and managers is a telling tale of increasing impatience with anyone and everyone who is not “fully productive”, as defined by a society of working drones.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether under FERS or CSRS, is an option which provides an outlet away from the compassionless environment of a workforce which, once not too long ago, viewed themselves with greater empathy by embracing disabled workers and with great fanfare declared programs of accommodations and patience. But somewhere along the way, the virtual world caught up with the reality of human nature; we are what we seek to become.

Federal Disability Retirement is an avenue of relief for the Federal or Postal Worker who requires an attention span greater than the time needed to view a movie; it is there for one’s lifetime, to attend to the realities of a world otherwise distracted by the glow of an electronic screen while one’s neighbor suffers real human needs.

Seven False Myths about OPM Disability Retirement

1) I have to be totally disabled to get Postal or Federal disability retirement.
False: You are eligible for disability retirement so long as you are unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your job. Thus, it is a much lower standard of disability.

2) My injury or illness has to be job-related.
False: You can get disability even if your condition is not work related. If your medical condition impacts your ability to perform any of the core elements of your job, you are eligible, regardless of how or where your condition occurred.

3) I have to quit my federal job first to get disability.
False: In most cases, you can apply while continuing to work at your present job, to the extent you are able.

4) I can't get disability if I suffer from a mental or nervous condition.
False: If your condition affects your job performance, you can still qualify. Psychiatric conditions are treated no differently from physical conditions.

5) Disability retirement is approved by DOL Workers Comp.
False: It's the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the federal agency that administers and approves disability for employees at the US Postal Service or other federal agencies.

6) I can wait for OPM disability retirement for many years after separation.
False: You only have one year from the date of separation from service - otherwise, you lose your right forever.

7) If I get disability retirement, I won't be able to apply for Scheduled Award (SA).
False: You can get a Scheduled Award under the rules of OWCP even after you get approved for OPM disability retirement.